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The state-run Bangladesh Development Bank PLC (BDBL) has sought Tk 50 billion as financial support from the government to help expand its overall operations, sources said.
Managing Director and CEO Md. Jashim Uddin in a letter made such a request to the Finance Adviser, aiming to boost the bank's investment, widen its banking operations and mobilise increased volume of inward remittances.
At the same time, the BDBL has submitted a set of business and operational plans to the finance ministry, according to the official sources.
In the letter, Mr. Jashim Uddin claimed that the bank faced a major setback following a sudden decision of the previous government in 2024 to merge the bank with another state-owned bank through an 'illegal process'.
Following the move, many institutional and individual depositors became panicked and had withdrawn their deposits from the bank, said the bank MD in his letter.
He further said several good and big institutional entrepreneurs also transferred their business transactions to somewhere else.
"Customers' confidence was severely affected. The bank's overall deposit situation became fragile," he said.
Such a move raised worries and frustrations among the officers and employees of the bank at all levels and they lost their enthusiasm for work because of it, the bank's top executive mentioned.
As a result, the bank's liquidity crisis deepened, thus affecting its overall investment and operational activitie, said Mr. Jashim.
Previously, the banks had not been required to take any financial assistance from the government, despite having some internal and international adversities including during the COVID pandemic.
When the attention was drawn to the BDBL's issue, a high official of the Finance Division said: "We have received the bank's request letter, seeking such funding support."
The bank's various indicators, including deposit situation, remained within the limits set by Bangladesh Bank (BB), he said, adding that it had so far paid a cash dividend amounting to Tk 695.0 million to the government exchequer.
The bank's paid-up capital has been enhanced by Tk 2.0 billion to Tk 6.0 billion, he mentioned.
The bank executive mentioned that they were able to address many of previous obstacles and worries following the timely decisions of the present interim government and proper guidance from its Board of Directors of the bank.
"Customers' confidence has been restored in all our 51 branches across the country with the sincere efforts of all the officers and employees of BDB," said a senior official of the bank.
The BDBL wants to open at least one branch in each of the 28 districts, where there is no branch and sub-branch, and other commercially important areas shortly to help expand its operational activities
Keeping this in mind, Mr. Jashim has sought necessary steps from the finance adviser in this regard so that the bank can contribute more to the country's overall investment and economic growth.
In 2024, the bank earned Tk 275.9 million and Tk 55.8 million as operating profit and next profit respectively.
The number of loss-making branches of the bank decreased from 12 in 2023 to five in 2024.
The Bank's Capital to Risk Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) as of December 2024 was 22.38 per cent, while its Capital Conservation Required Ratio (CRAR), including the Conservation Buffer, was to be 12.50 per cent.
Total assets of the BDBL also stood at Tk 59.89 billion while total loans and advances reached Tk 25.55 billion.
Due to the negative impact of the previous government's merger move, the bank's deposits decreased substantially at the end of 2024, the bank data showed.
The amount of written-off loans also decreased by 42.37 per cent to Tk 14.13 billion in the last year compared to that of Tk 24.51 billion previously.
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